Floating interposer
View Patent ↗The front of a rack-mounted 2RU (Rack Unit) chassis includes bays that receive replaceable components, such as storage drives. Two rear slots of such chassis may each receive 1RU servers that couple to a chassis midplane via interposers. Administration of such 2RU chassis is simplified when a 1 RU server can be installed identically in the top or bottom chassis slot. Embodiments provide this capability while avoiding locating interposers along the center of the midplane. A lower guide routes a floating interposer of the server to lower midplane connectors as the server is inserted in the lower slot. An upper guide routes the floating interposer to upper midplane connectors as the server is inserted in the upper slot. The floating interposer moves up and down based vertical travel of guidewheels that protrude from the server and are routed by the guides as the server is inserted in a slot.
1. A chassis housing a first Information Handling System (IHS), the chassis comprising:
a lower slot comprising a plurality of lower connectors for receiving a floating interposer of the first IHS;
a lower guide that routes the floating interposer of the first IHS to the lower connectors as the first IHS is inserted in the lower slot;
an upper slot comprising a plurality of upper connectors for receiving the floating interposer of the first IHS; and
an upper guide that routes the floating interposer of the first IHS to the upper connectors as the first IHS is inserted in the upper slot, wherein the upper guide comprises a rail that routes a guidewheel of the floating interposer, and wherein the floating interposer travels vertically along guidepost to a vertical location of the upper connectors of the chassis as the first IHS is inserted in the upper slot.
2. The chassis of claim 1 , wherein the lower connectors and upper connectors couple the floating interposer of the first IHS to a midplane of the chassis.
3. The chassis of claim 2 , wherein the midplane comprises connectors for coupling a plurality of storage devices to the chassis.
4. The chassis of claim 1 , wherein the lower guide comprises a rail that routes a guidewheel of the floating interposer to a vertical location of the lower connectors of the chassis as the first IHS is inserted in the lower slot.
5. The chassis of claim 1 , wherein the floating interposer is raised along a plurality of guideposts by the routing of the guide wheel by the rail of the upper guide.
6. The chassis of claim 4 , wherein the lower guide comprises a channel that receives the guidewheel and aligns the floating interposer with the lower connectors.
7. The chassis of claim 1 , wherein the upper guide comprises a channel that receives the guidewheel and aligns the floating interposer with the upper connectors.
8. An Information Handling System (IHS) comprising:
one or more processors and a memory device coupled to the one or more processors; and
a floating interposer for coupling the IHS to a chassis, wherein the floating interposer comprises a plurality of connectors received by the upper and lower connectors of the chassis and further comprises a plurality of guidewheels that protrude from an enclosure of the IHS, and wherein a vertical position of the floating interposer is aligned with a plurality of lower connectors of the chassis when the IHS is inserted in the lower slot of the chassis and wherein the wherein the vertical position of the floating interposer is aligned with a plurality of upper connectors of the chassis when the IHS is inserted in the upper slot of the chassis, and wherein the plurality of protruding guidewheels are received by rails comprised within the upper and lower slots of the chassis, and wherein the floating interposer travels vertically along guideposts to the upper connectors as the IHS is inserted in the upper slot and vertically along the guideposts to the lower connectors as the IHS is inserted in the lower slot.
9. The IHS of claim 8 , wherein the upper and lower connectors are located on a midplane of the chassis.
10. The IHS of claim 9 , wherein the midplane comprises connectors for coupling a plurality of storage devices to the chassis.
11. The IHS of claim 8 , wherein vertical movement of the guidewheels moves the floating interposer vertically.
12. The IHS of claim 8 , further comprising:
the plurality of guideposts that extend from the base of an enclosure of the IHS and limit movement of the floating interposer along a vertical axis.
13. A method for modifying information processing capabilities provided by a chassis capable of hosting a plurality of IHSs (Information Handling Systems), the method comprising:
inserting a first IHS within a lower slot of the chassis, wherein the insertion of the first IHS in the lower slot aligns a floating interposer of the first IHS with a plurality of lower connectors of a midplane of the chassis; and
inserting the first IHS within an upper slot of the chassis, wherein the insertion of the first IHS in the upper slot aligns the floating interposer of the first IHS with a plurality of upper connectors of the midplane of the chassis, and wherein the floating interposer is aligned with the plurality of upper connectors by a plurality of rails along sidewalls of the chassis within the upper slot, and wherein the floating interposer is guided vertically along a set of guideposts of the first IHS when inserted in the upper slot and when inserted in the lower slot, and wherein each rail routes a guidewheel of the floating interposer such that the floating interposer travels vertically along guideposts to a vertical location of the upper connectors as the IHS is inserted in the upper slot and to a vertical location of the lower connectors as the IHS is inserted in the lower slot.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the floating interposer is aligned with the plurality of lower connectors by a plurality of guides along sidewalls of the chassis within the lower slot.